‘Street’ inspired cider launched to match Melbourne street food trend
Melbourne-based cider manufacturer Cheeky Rascal Cider has released a cider range designed to partner with the increasingly popular street food trend.
Cheeky Rascal Cider has launched small batches of a seasonal series of ciders to pair with popular street food, including a Vietnamese cider of strawberry, lychee and apple to Nashi Cider to match Japanese cuisine; an apple lime mint with chilli variety inspired by Mexican cuisine; plum ginger pear for Chinese cuisine; and Blood Orange lemoncello pear to partner with Italian cuisine.
Rebello CEO Ruth Gallace, who is behind Cheeky Rascal Cider, says like most of its ciders, the idea came to her in an unconventional way.
“I was sitting in a little cocktail bar one day having a capriosca and the mixologist threw in a bit of chilli – and it really got me thinking about how we could play around with our cider, and how it would be a perfect match with some really great street food,” Ms Gallace said.
Ms Gallace said the way street food is made, paying homage to its heritage, but using fresh local ingredients was “entirely reflective of Cheeky Rascal’s own philosophy”, which uses traditional Italian winemaking techniques handed down over generations, but with its own innovative approach.
Ms Gallace said the concept to marry cider with the ‘street food approach’ was to take an “explorative approach”.
“We got together with our senior cider maker and spent hours playing around with some ingredients, tasting and experimenting, before we found just the right combination of flavours,” Ms Gallace said. “We wanted to create something fresh and vibrant which brings people together: a quality cider, but one that is created for that casual last minute dining experience,” she said.
Ms Gallace said the range has “excited local eateries” in Melbourne.
“Cider and craft beer have emerged as a surprising category in complementing street food and the two movements are really coming together,” Ms Gallace said. “Authentic eateries are now seeing how they are really adding to the flavour and experience, and are excited about the concept of having a cider to specifically pair with their food,” she said.
The seasonal series will kick off with Cheeky Rascal ‘Mexican’ and ‘Italian’ launched in BWS and Dan Murphy’s nationwide in November 2014 and Vietnamese into a variety of eateries.
